By The Associated Press
Los Angeles Rams (4-5) at New England (3-7)
Time/TV: 1 p.m., FOX
Latest line: Rams by 5.
Series record: Patriots lead 9-6.
Last meeting: Rams beat Patriots 24-3 in Inglewood, Calif. on Dec. 10, 2020.
Last week: Rams lost to Miami 23-15; Patriots beat Chicago 19-3.
Rams player to watch: OLB Byron Young has a sack in three straight games for the first time as an NFL player. The pairing of Young, who is in his second season, and rookie Jared Verse is quickly emerging as one of the more dangerous pass rush combinations in the game.
Patriots player to watch: QB Drake Maye is averaging 9.3 yards per rush with 233 yards on 25 attempts. The highest single-season rushing average for an NFL quarterback is 8.5 by Michael Vick in 2006 (123 attempts for 1,039 yards with Atlanta).
Key matchup: Rams offensive line vs. Patriots defensive line. The Patriots are coming off a nine-sack performance in last week’s win at Chicago, in which the defensive front seven accounted for seven sacks. It will look to attack a Los Angeles offensive line that has been dealing with injury issues.
Notable: The Rams failed to score a touchdown in three possessions into the red zone in the loss to the Dolphins. They are now 6 for 18 (33.3%) in their five losses, which is all the more frustrating because four of those defeats have been one-possession outcomes. … TE Davis Allen had five receptions for 34 yards, both season highs, having seemingly supplanted Colby Parkinson as the top option at the position. Allen had been targeted five times and made one catch for 5 yards in five previous games. … Verse has five tackles for loss and 3 1/2 sacks over his past three games. He had his first career strip-sack against Tagovailoa. … Los Angeles is allowing 5.7 yards per play, which is on pace to be its worst defense since 2018 (6.0). … Matthew Stafford is tied with Eli Manning (366) for the 10th-most touchdown passes. … The Rams had held five straight opponents under 33.3% on third down, but the Dolphins were able to convert at 46.2% efficiency (6 of 13). That included giving up a third-and-6 late in the fourth quarter on a drive where Miami kicked a field goal to go up by two scores.
–Associated Press
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